Reckless Harvest

Cowgirl Meets Cote d’Azur… Part detective, part treasure hunter, Lydia Surreault has achieved astounding success finding things for people…everything from forgotten paintings to her most recent and highest of high profile discoveries… the long lost Porsche that Steve McQueen drove in the movie “24 Hours at Le Mans.” It’s a coup that has put her one-person agency, ‘Finders’ on the front page of the New York Times, vaulting her into a prominence she neither sought nor desired. For Lydia has had it with the ‘good life’…the travel, the upscale restaurants, the fancy parties and insider invitations…and an increasingly long list of Metrosexual suitors. Lydia cringes at yet another text message on her I-Phone. ‘Hey, if you’re in town let me know, we could hang out…’ She restrains herself from replying, ‘shave your trendy-two-day beard and grow a pair first.’ She’s decided to turn her back on the Big Apple and return to the Montana ranch where she was born and raised. Perhaps in the still rugged West, she can find a man who will ignite the smoldering, but long dormant passion within her. As Lydia prepares to bid farewell to New York, she has a chance meeting with Sean Berwick, a mysterious and extraordinary European blue blood. Heavily reliant on his finely honed intuition, Sean is a man who flows with the situation, seizes opportunities and trusts his decisions. In an instant he throws Lydia’s life and future plans into disarray, persuading her to return with him to the Cote d’Azur to solve a century old mystery surrounding a fabled seaside Villa. Lydia reluctantly agrees to take on ‘one last case’ only to be thrust into a world of glamour and excess best summed up as, “a sunny place for shady people.” And even as Lydia falls for Sean, and the paradise of southern France, her unfailing intuition and nose for minutiae uncover a series of secrets that will severely test her loyalty to him and jeopardize the very people she has come to know and love.

Cowgirl Meets Cote d’Azur… Part detective, part treasure hunter, Lydia Surreault has achieved astounding success finding things for people…everything from forgotten paintings to her most recent and highest of high profile discoveries… the long lost Porsche that Steve McQueen drove in the movie “24 Hours at Le Mans.” It’s a coup that landed her one-person agency, ‘Finders’ on the front page of the New York Times, into a prominence she neither sought nor expected. Lying in the bathtub, reading the account of her exploits, she is intrigued by a quote from a billionaire client: “Lydia Surreault can find anything for anyone at any time.” Except for a man, she quips to herself. Weary of her adopted home in the Big Apple and the ‘good life’ that goes along with it, Lydia is preparing to renounce the travel, the upscale restaurants, the VIP crowd, the fancy parties and insider invitations…and unfortunately, an increasingly long list of Metrosexual suitors. Lydia cringes as yet another text message coldly illuminates the screen of her Iphone. ‘Hey, if you’re in town let me know, we could hang out…’ She restrains herself from replying, ‘shave your trendy-two-day beard and grow a pair first.’ As she throws the phone aside, Lydia decides to take a step she’s been considering for some time…to turn her back on The City and return to her roots, the Montana ranch where she was born and raised in the still rugged West, where people are real, not digital, where she can find some peace of mind…and just possibly, a man who will ignite the long dormant, but smoldering passion deep within her. Yet even as Lydia prepares to bid farewell to New York, she has a chance meeting with Sean Berwick, a mysterious and extraordinary European vintner who mesmerizes her with his unstudied charm, razor sharp wit and, yes, his undeniable prowess. Heavily reliant on his finely honed intuition, Sean is a man who flows with the situation, seizes opportunities and trusts his decisions. In an instant Lydia’s plans are thrown into turmoil as he convinces her to return with him to the south of France, to the Cote d’Azur, to solve a century old mystery surrounding his prized possession, a fabled seaside Villa tarnished by a wicked curse. Against her better judgment, Lydia agrees to take on ‘one last case’ only to be thrust into a world of glamour and excess; a region best described by W. Sommerset Maugham as, “a sunny place for shady people.” As hard as she tries to maintain a professional veneer, Lydia is captivated, both by the lifestyle of the French Riviera and the taciturn patrician, Sean. But he proves to be a mystery wrapped in an enigma, sometimes engaging and playful, more often, distant and harsh, a man who has earned millions through his magic and sensitive abilities as a vintner and millions more as a hard-nosed, unforgiving businessman. A man whose temper and impatience strike fear into devious employees…and yet shows exceeding grace, kindness and generosity to those who earn his trust and favor. Lydia is unsure which side she falls upon. But as she sets about the task of unraveling a century old riddle, her unfailing intuition and nose for minutiae uncover a series of secrets that will severely test her loyalty to Sean and in the end, jeopardize the very people she has come to know and love.

EVA DOUGLAS BIOGRAPHY Eva Douglas is the pseudonym of an eternally young, refreshingly dynamic and energetic authority on western art, a published and respected author of six coffee table art books, a talent in constant demand as speaker, lecturer, art jurist and buyer, and yet who, for fictions’ sake at least, prefers to write anonymously. The author’s own feverish desire to live the life of her heroine, Lydia Surreault…IE…a striking yet lonely, relationship-shy yet intuitive, forthright yet vulnerable, globetrotting though constantly homesick and, most importantly, famously successful ‘finder’… was thwarted by her fairytale, supremely satisfying 20-year marriage to her true love, JP, who also prefers to remain anonymous. Aside from the foundation that a solid marriage and emotional stability provides, the author shares many of the attributes of her protagonist, Lydia, including growing up tough in Montana; a delicate and finely tuned radar for value in the seemingly mundane; dogged determination and appreciation for the rewards it bestows; grit and grime hidden beneath finely manicured fingernails; feminine charm in bounteous abundance; a tuning fork for nuance and understanding of human behavior; and finally, an insatiable desire for anything and everything labeled Chanel. Take it from one who knows, Lydia Surreault is only faint substitute for the real thing. Signed – A Secret Admirer